Star India batter KL Rahul’s horrendous run continued as he was once again dismissed cheaply in the second unofficial Test against Australia A at Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne on Friday, November 8. The right-handed batter began his innings cautiously scoring 10 of 43 balls but all his hard work ended as he got bowled between his legs by Corey Rocchiccioli.
Rahul got dismissed in a bizarre fashion by the off-spinner as he got on the backfoot to work the ball towards the leg side but didn’t offer a shot due to an error in judgement. As a result, the ball ended up hitting him on his left pad and hit his off stump. Hence, the India batter had to return to the pavilion after scoring just 10 (44).
Watch the dismissal here:
Earlier in the first innings, he was dismissed for just 4 (4) edging Scott Boland straight to wicketkeeper Jimmy Peirson. Rahul’s form has become a cause of concern for the Indian Test team as he was recently dropped for the last two Tests vs New Zealand with Sarfaraz Khan replacing him.
Since 2022, Rahul has scored 514 runs in Tests from 12 matches (21 innings) at an average of 25.7 having registered three half centuries and a century. The 32-year-old has got the support of the India head coach Gautam Gambhir who’s backed him to the hilt.
India A in a precarious position on Day 2
Rahul and Dhruv Jurel were added to the India A squad to allow the duo to get acclimatized to the Australian conditions ahead of the upcoming five-match Test series against Australia. However, Rahul has once again failed to deliver on his team’s trust and is unlikely to start in the first Test in Perth beginning from November 22.
On the other hand, Jurel made the most of the opportunity by scoring a magnificent 80 in the first innings being the lone warrior for India A who got bundled out for 161. Australia A replied with 223 in the first innings as Marcus Harris top scored with 74 and helped his team get a 62-run lead. In the second innings, India A were once again left reeling at 73/5 after 31 overs with Dhruv Jurel (19*) and Nitish Kumar Reddy (9*) at the crease on Day 2.